Beautiful
by rukia-neesan
Summary: They both find her beautiful.  The only difference is when.  Implied IchiRuki.


The last line of this fic has been stuck in my head for days, so I finally gave up and decided to write a story to go with it. Rated T for violence, just to be safe. Minor spoilers to the early Arrancar arc. Oneshot.

**Beautiful**

_They both find her beautiful. The only difference is when._

-

Rukia is dancing.

Her blade glows softly in the moonlight as she sweeps it in a graceful circle, neatly parrying the claws that reach for her chest. The hollow snarls, backing away, then charges her again. As Rukia brings her sword around once more, the hollow grins, then leaps into the air. Circling around, it prepares to descend upon its prey, using its superior size to overpower the small figure it is intent on devouring.

It never gets a chance.

"Some no mae. Tsukishiro."

-

Rukia turns back toward Ichigo, sheathing her zanpakutou as the hollow's remains shimmer and vanish behind her. She sees the scowl on his face, and smiles.

"I told you I could handle it on my own, Ichigo. Remember, I've been doing this since long before you were born. Despite what you may think, you're not the only one around here who can fight."

Ichigo continues glaring at her. He knows she's right, knows that she's perfectly capable of defending herself, but he still doesn't like watching her put herself in danger. He's seen her go through too much pain already, and despite her continued assurances that she'll be fine, he can't keep himself from trying to protect her from anything else that might hurt her. The need to protect is an instinct buried too deep within him to escape it.

Sighing, he allows himself to relax. It's all right, he reminds himself. She's safe now. Time to go home.

He watches her walk back over to her gigai, whose temporary inhabitant is congratulating her on another job well done, pyon. Rolling his eyes, he wonders, for the millionth time, just _why_ she chose _that_ particular gikongan. He'd thought Kon was bad, but compared to that "Chappy"...

Rukia's spirit communicator suddenly beeps again, cutting off Ichigo's thoughs. She leaps sideways, barely avoiding what looks like a bolt of greenish-yellow lightning as she pushes her gigai out of the way. Chappy pauses for only a moment to exchange a nod with Rukia, then darts into the shadow of a nearby building to watch. Rukia spins to face the new hollow, and Ichigo's heart sinks as he sees it sneer at her from behind its mask, which is partially open.

_Arrancar._

He starts forward, only to be cut off by Rukia's voice. "Ichigo! To your left!"

Ichigo, startled, whips around, pulling Zangetsu out as he faces the hollow who had been attempting to sneak up on him. This one's mask is also broken, but even Ichigo can tell that its reiatsu isn't much higher than a normal hollow's. Confident, he dodges the arrancar's slow attack and brings down his sword. One of the arrancar's arms hits the ground, and it screams in pain and rage, turning to face Ichigo again.

But Ichigo is no longer there, and before the arrancar can realize where he's gone, Zangetsu is biting into the broken mask. The arrancar screams again, and Ichigo scoffs. _Jeez, what's with all these weaklings lately?_

He fails to notice the arrancar's remaining arm sweeping toward him until it's almost too late.

Ducking to the side, he manages to avoid the worst of the blow, but the iron fist still catches him in the shoulder, knocking him to the ground, and Ichigo feels his head hit the pavement with a sickening _crack_. Swearing, he pulls himself to his feet and swings again, this time cleaving straight through the arrancar's mask and splitting its skull in two. It screams one last time, then dissolves.

Worried about how Rukia is faring, Ichigo turns toward her, staggering... and stops.

Rukia is dancing again. And as Ichigo watches the scene before him, he is suddenly struck by a realization.

_She's beautiful like this._

He can only watch as the arrancar she is fighting throws another bolt of lightning at her, as she flicks her wrist in a circle, her pure white blade cutting an arc through the air. With a whispered incantation, she sends a wave of countless glittering shards at her opponent, completely overwhelming the arrancar's attack. He stares at her, entranced. She fights with the same grace and power as her noble brother, but in her it is somehow transformed, softened. Ichigo thinks, dazedly, that he is seeing something rare and precious, something impossible to put into words. All he can do is stand, and watch.

_Beautiful._

She turns back to him, the arrancar behind her shattering into thousands of crystals that catch the light as they fall, melting away into nothing. And all he can do is stare at her.

She tilts her head, smirking. "What's the matter, Ichigo? Was that one too much for you to handle?"

Ichigo tries to reply, but his vision is starting to grow dim, and he decides that he's probably not going to stay conscious very much longer. Swaying, he starts to fall, but Rukia is there to catch him before he hits the ground. He feels her cool, soft hands on his head, feels the pulse of her reiatsu as she begins to heal him, and he smiles slightly as she mutters "_baka."_

_Beautiful._

But his vision is darkening, and suddenly, horrifyingly, he hears the voice in his head begin to laugh.

_I told you, King. You're pathetic. You're weak. You're nothing compared to me._

_And I think it's time _she _realized that, too._

And Ichigo can only watch from afar as his inner nightmare opens Ichigo's black-and-yellow eyes, as he throws Rukia aside and stands, turning to face her with Zangetsu in his hands. And the last thing Ichigo hears as he fades from consciousness, as he sees Rukia standing before him, cut and bleeding, is that voice.

_You're right, King. She really is beautiful like this._

-

And there goes my first attempt at Bleach fanfiction, woot. Reviews would be appreciated, any flames will be used to toast marshmallows over. And you really don't want me to be any more sugar-high than I am right now.


End file.
